A Small Bank With Big Shoulders

Chicago's MB Financial toughed its way to a great quarter, boasts a strong mix of fee and loan revenue, and looks like a takeover candidate.

MB Financial is a small commercial bank based in the City of the Big Shoulders, poet Carl Sandburg's affectionate sobriquet for Chicago.

A husky presence was just what MB Financial (ticker: MBFI) displayed in the fourth quarter, when its loan portfolio grew an impressive 15% on an annualized basis. That kind of growth blew away the competition, large and small.